The weather was beautiful all of last week in England and I seized the opportunity for some outdoor eating. It’s not often it’s warm enough (or not raining!). I had a group of uni friends around to celebrate the summer with vegan food and Pimm’s.
I don’t know how well-known Pimm’s is outside of the UK since it really is the quintessential English summer drink. I’m not a big drinker at all but I would never turn down a glass of Pimm’s.
It’s a gin-based liqueur which is mixed with lemonade, fresh fruit and mint. You can add whatever you like but I’m partial to strawberries, oranges, apples + cucumber.
Along with several jugs of Pimm’s throughout the afternoon there was plenty to eat. It was fun introducing my friends to the delights of animal-free food, since none of them are even vegetarians. We were having too much fun so I forgot to take pictures of the spread but did snap a couple- here’s my first plate of food
And here’s the menu:
Chickpea Flour Veggie Quiche (Soy-free)
Rosemary Focaccia (Veganomicon)
Falafel (Vegan with a Vengeance) + Mediterranean Cashew Cucumber Dip (Veganomicon)
Crudités + Homemade Hummus
Green Salad
Chickpea, Tomato + Basil Salad (See below)
New Potato Salad with Mustard Dill Dressing [unpictured]
Here’s my lovely focaccia- I was really pleased with how well it turned out- great flavour and texture.
Oh…and there was dessert of course- Strawberries, Vanilla Ice Cream + Chocolate Brownies! (I would have loved to have made raw brownies but wanted to keep everything fairly simple and familiar for the omnivores)
The Chickpea, Tomato, Basil Salad was so simple but incredibly delicious and something I’ll definitely make throughout the summer when the tomatoes and basil in the garden get going properly.
Chickpea Tomato Basil Salad:
3 C Cooked Chickpeas (or 2 cans)
4 C Cherry Tomatoes, halved
3 Cloves Garlic
2T Apple Cider Vinegar
2 T Red Wine Vinegar
1T Maple Syrup or Agave Nectar
1T Olive Oil
As much Basil as you like, julienned
Good pinch Sea salt + Plenty of Black Pepper
Have you been dining al fresco at all this year? Any good picnic recipes to share?